Dassault Systèmes and IBM collaborate to accelerate the sustainable transformation of asset-intensive industries thanks to virtual twin experiences

• Long-term partners extend their collaboration with the signature of a memorandum of understanding at the World Economic Forum in Davos
• Combination of Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform and virtual twin experiences, and IBM’s asset management, IoT platform and environmental intelligence suite will deliver actionable insights and solutions for modernizing assets, optimizing operations, and accelerating sustainability outcomes
• Partnership will prioritize infrastructure, energy, materials and data centers markets 

Davos, January 19, 2023: Dassault Systèmes and IBM today announced an extension of their long-standing collaboration with the signature of a memorandum of understanding combining their technologies to address the sustainability challenges affecting asset-intensive industries.

In 2022, sustainability was identified by 58% of Energy and Resources CEOs as their greatest challenge, with 51% of them also considering it as a business opportunity that will drive growth. At the same time, 44% of CEOs cited a lack of insights from data as a problem. (Source: IBV 2022 CEO - Energy & Resources insights)

Today companies are confronted with not only rising energy prices but also supply chain and operational disruptions. These disruptions are due to multiple factors including geopolitical situations, an aging workforce, and climate-related risks. In response to these challenges, deploying new infrastructure quickly and efficiently as well as optimizing the operations of existing assets and extending their lifecycle is crucial.  A company’s ability to harness actionable, data-driven insights is key to accelerate the transformation of assets that are safer, more efficient and more sustainable. 

To help companies ensure business continuity while achieving their sustainability goals, Dassault Systèmes and IBM have decided to combine Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform and virtual twin experiences with IBM’s solutions for Asset Management, Resources Optimization, Environmental Risk Management and ESG governance.

Any organization including consulting firms or engineering companies will be able to better understand existing assets and therefore provide the transformational roadmap to modernize and optimize energy grids, wind farms, airports, water distribution systems, transportation and mobility, cities and datacenters.

A virtual twin experience of an asset is a data-enriched, evolving 3D model that replicates reality with scientific accuracy and is used to test and improve the asset’s performance virtually before doing so physically.  Combining virtual twin experiences of equipment, infrastructure, value networks and territories with solutions for optimizing meteorological and green IT data, for example, will help to:

• Improve collaboration and knowledge sharing between system engineering, manufacturing, and operations teams. 
• Make faster, safer, and more sustainable operational decisions for assets, people, and processes.
• Integrate compliance considerations with respect to industry and environmental regulations from the engineering phase to the maintenance phase.

Over the coming months, Dassault Systèmes and IBM will work together to structure the details of their joint offering. Both companies will first target owners and operators of water / energy distribution and energy transmission projects, wind farms operators, airports and IT infrastructure projects that focus on datacenters.

Examples use cases that benefit from this collaboration in Energy and Civilian Infrastructure markets include:

• Compute and optimize global carbon footprint during datacenter operations by automating the actions that proactively deliver the most efficient use of compute, storage, and network resources.
• Enhance airport operations by leveraging asset health and maintenance information, along with global meteorological and forecasting data
• Combine optimization and simulation capabilities to improve the placement of physical assets for wind farms.
• Optimize utilities operations and renovations including electrical transmission, water supply and sanitation 

“There is no better time to revitalize the IBM Dassault Systèmes long-term Partnership, as solving sustainability challenges requires collaboration across an advanced ecosystem of business partners. We are convinced that enriching virtual twins with real world data will enable companies to improve their operational efficiency and reduce their environment impact especially in asset intensive industries,” commented Ana Paula de Jesus Assis, Chair & General Manager, EMEA, IBM. “Throughout our own history, IBM has sought to be at the forefront of making our world a better place and our 2030 Net-Zero ambition confirms our commitment. We are developing a comprehensive and differentiated portfolio of sustainability software and consulting services, in concert with our ecosystem of partners.” 

“IBM has long been a valued partner of Dassault Systèmes, and we share a deep commitment to accelerating the sustainable transformation of industries.  This next step aims to help our customers reduce their environmental footprint in sectors that are urgent priorities in the context of today’s energy crisis,” said Florence Verzelen, Executive Vice President, Industry, Marketing and Sustainability, Dassault Systèmes.  “The combination of IBM’s sustainability software and expertise with our 3DEXPERIENCE platform, sustainability portfolio and virtual twin experiences can offer unparalleled ways to address systemic challenges in achieving net zero ambitions and driving the circular economy.”